18 replies to this topic

[Screwdriver]

Totally agree. Outside of the increasing appeal of aircon in Southern England, one other benefit is the superior quality of Japanese manufactured aftermarket rubber and machined metal parts. As a result of the biennial Shaken MOT test, Japanese Minis typically have had many components replaced with parts that are as good if not better than OEM during their lives in the far east.

 

I always lean on the kindness of David Ainley to source JDM replacements where possible, down to my fan belts.

 

My advice would be to avoid the wing mirrors and the automatic transmission if possible.

 

 

honestly, until you have seen a Jap mini in the flesh you have no idea what you are missing. Even threads on bolts etc are like new. True what was said, it depends where it came from in Japan but if you get the right car from the right place it's a sight to behold.

Edited by Screwdriver, 05 June 2018 - 09:58 AM.

[mrmeds]

okay, so my search for a jap mini went well - now the proud owner of a uk 1989 1000cc mini city with a stage one kit instead !

[Bobbins]

Nice one :) It doesn't really matter whether it's a uk spec car or an import, if the spec and condition suits your budget it's the right car.

On the subject of wing mounted mirrors, my JDM Cooper has them and I'd considered swapping them for door mirrors but until I can refinish the wings properly I'm happy to stick to the wing mounted ones. The existing ones were pretty corroded (my car's been in the UK for 10 years) so I've decided as a stop-gap to fit some new ones and found some identical to the originals but in polished stainless versions with convex glass from BB Classics - now they're fitted I really like them!

Stu.

[surfblue]

Just browsing The Car Warehouse site, some lovely Minis and a beautiflul Landrover Discovery 2, if only it was a Td5 instead of a V8!